The Highway: Summer Time
by Kit K
Summary: Warren Hendrickson has just graduated from Hillborne High and is ready to take on life. Before going on to whatever is ahead, a summer must go by...almost all genres...rating: T.
1. The First of Many Days

I started playing FFTA a few days ago, and as all games mostly do, it inspired me into a new story. This one, unlike many other, I am certain I will go far with, as in make many, many chapters. It has potential, I think. I hope.

DISCLAIMER: If I owned Squaresoft or Nintendo, I would probably be working on a plan to destroy Microsoft. shifty eyes I must eliminate you now.

* * *

"Today, we have gathered to celebrate the graduation of the Hillborne High class of eighty-nine!"

The sun shone brightly upon the large grass field behind the high school of Hillborne, a small town in the south of main Ivalice. The large, sandy-yellow school seemed absolutely empty, since everyone was either outside watching the senior's graduation or they had already gone home or left for vacation. There were a few third graders from the nearby elementary school playing by the swings, laughing loudly, which seemed to irritate the short, stubby principal who was speaking at the podium in front of the long rows of chairs on which many teary-eyed mothers, grinning fathers and other family members were sitting, all showing signs of great joy, and next to the large bleachers were the actual seniors were, all in navy blue robes and square hats.

"It is with great pride that I watch these young adults go into the world, and I know that they have really grown and learned during their time here…"

A boy standing on the bleachers with short, dark hair rolled his eyes and looked away, over the people watching instead. He smiled when he saw his mother sitting at the front, blowing her nose on a handkerchief and wiping her eyes at the same time. He looked at the other students around him. His best friend, a tall, slightly freckled boy with bright, fiery red hair was standing two rows down, grinning widely and staring at the ground before him, apparently in deep thought. Just two people away from him were another friend of the dark-haired senior, a long-haired, female brunette with a pen tucked beneath her ear. She wasn't the type to be happy and optimistic, exactly, but today she seemed unnaturally perky. She seemed to be holding in her laughs. He smiled and realized he was also at the verge of laughter, although he wasn't sure why. He looked away and stared through a window on school behind him. It was apparently the Combat Training classroom, as he saw a row of different blades, all covered in liquid rubber ("Safety first!" was printed on each blade), and he fondly remembered all the good times he had experienced in this school. And for once, he was a bit sad that school was out.

"…and I know that each and everyone here will make a great life for themselves out there and become as successful, whatever they decide to do!" Warren suddenly snapped back to hear these last words before loud applauds broke out. "Now, it is time to hand out the diplomas!" Principal Quells finished and reached down behind the podium. He stood up again and bowed forwards and said into the tiny microphone;

"Anna Allison, now a certified Soldier!" He called out. A short, blonde girl walked up to the podium and took her diploma and then stepped back into the bleachers, grinning widely.

"Ayla Amberfield, newly graduated White Mage!" Another blonde girl walked up to take her diploma.

Warren's attention wore off again, and he looked away again. He looked up at the sun and smiled. His whole body was trembling with happiness. Soon, he would be a certified Thief, and he would be allowed to duel and enter tournaments and do whatever he wanted…

"Delia Emerfelt!" Quells called out. "Now a Black Mage!" Warren looked up and saw his hazel-haired friend walk over to the podium and accept her diploma.

"Elroy Finnegan!" Quells continued as Delia walked back to the bleachers, and the red-haired boy walked up to the podium. "Now a Battler!" Elroy took his diploma, raised his fists victoriously and grinned at the applauding crowd and then walked back to his place in the bleachers. Warren smiled and thought how nice it must be to really have those privileges on paper. He fell into his thoughts again and smiled to himself. He faintly heard the names being called until someone behind him pushed him lightly.

"Dude, you're up!" Someone exclaimed which earned him a few laughs. Warren looked up and his eyes widened. He hurried over to the podium and smiled as he took the diploma Quells handed him.

"Congratulations on becoming a certified Thief!" He smiled. Warren nodded briefly and went back to his place in the bleachers, holding the diploma tightly in his hand. He got back in his place and looked at the diploma. There was some text, but there, in the middle of the diploma, 'Warren Hendrickson: Graduated as Thief' read in gold letters. He sighed and looked up. The last students had taken their diplomas.

"Now that we have given you all your diplomas, and all the congratulations and good lucks have been said, it is time for you to go and begin your summer break! Once again, good luck and congratulations…" Quells stopped for a second and looked at the students again. "…on becoming the graduating class of two-thousand five!" It seemed like these last words had triggered something, as many of the people sitting in the audience took out cameras, and all the seniors took of their hats. Then, they all threw their hats into the air with shouts of joy and celebration, and the sound of cameras flashing and clicking went off.

A few hours after the graduation, everyone had left except for a few who were saying their last words to the teachers and younger students and those who were just sticking around for a while, like Warren, Delia and Elroy did.

Warren swung in his seat a little more forcefully, trying to get higher. He looked at his sides, at Delia, who was sitting tiredly on her swing and at Elroy, who was, as always, building up so much height it was becoming dangerous to be even near the swings.

"So!" Elroy shouted as he swung by Delia. "What!" He shouted again when he swung down again. "Do!" Again, he swung by. He was coming down when Delia raised her arm dully, and the swing stopped abruptly, throwing Elroy back onto the sand behind. "…we do now?" He finished.

"It's quite obvious, isn't it?" Delia said, sighing lightly. Warren rolled his eyes, and Elroy sat still. Delia sighed again as no one answered. "We have three months of freedom. We can do whatever we want…personally, I'm going to find a good clan, get some experience in practical, real use of magic and try to find a good university to go on in."

"Yeah, same here, probably." Warren added. Elroy shrugged.

"Meh. I don't think three months is enough, though."

"Enough for a while, isn't it? It's not like we HAVE to go to university afterwards, that's why I'm spending this summer finding out if I want to advance into higher academics." Delia sighed again. They all sat quietly for a while. Warren stood up and looked around the empty, silent school yard.

"Let's go, guys." He said, his voice slightly raspy.

* * *

"Honey!" Warren winced slightly as a loud voice rang through the Victorian house immediately after the front door slammed behind him. He leaned against the turquoise entrance hall wall and kicked off his tabis and threw off his grey jacket.

"Yeah, mom!" He called back and dusted off his black jeans and his dark green shirt.

"Upstairs!" He hurried across the hall and up the mahogany stairs and into another hall. "Your uncle's package is here!" Warren grinned as he emerged to the final step and sped down the hall, stopping at the entrance to the master bedroom. His mother, Eileen, was sitting on the bed with a large, brown box in her knee. "Open it!" She smiled, standing up and handing him the box. He placed it down on the floor and pulled up the top of the box. It was filled to the brim of the box, but the top was covered in a white blanket. Warren threw it off and his eyes widened at what was revealed.

It was several piles of different gear, most of them a shade of hunter green, but what interested Warren the most was the item on the top, a dagger with a rather long blade which was blunt at the back and became sharper and thinner progressing to the front. It was slightly curved at the top, although the curve stopped abruptly into the straight back. In the middle of the blade were three square sockets on an up-down row. The dark green hilt was T-shaped, with the two sticking out-parts pointing in front of and behind the blade. Black leather was wrapped around the actual handle.

"Wow…" Warren gasped and picked up the dagger. He swung it around a bit. "It seems really big for a dagger…"

"Well, we'll have to remember to send Uncle George a thank you, right?"

"Of course!" Warren set down the dagger on the floor and looked at the other things in the box. There was a whole outfit, obviously a custom variation of the standard thief outfit. It consisted of a hunter green jacket. The arms on the jacket were cut away, and the wrists of the jacket hung to the actual arm holes on strong, green dyed strings. There was also a light, baggy, cream-colored shirt. Then there were hunter green, baggy pants and a brown belt with a silver buckle. And at the very bottom of the box was a pair of hunter green tabis, along with a medium size, beige case.

"What's this?" Warren took out the boots and looked at the case. He opened it and raised a confused eyebrow at the contents. It was all sorts of small hilt-less daggers and axes, all with small squares at the end of them. He saw a note attached to the top of the case. He immediately recognized the handwriting as his uncles.

'Like the gear? Bet you do. Heh. Anyway, you might wonder what these things are. If you saw the dagger, you might have noticed the small sockets in them, right? You might also have noticed these little fidgets have squares at the end of them too, right? Well, you see, these nifty little things are parts that can be attached to your dagger, you know, like extra weapons. They're not always that useful in battle, but they can have many other uses. Always carry the case around with you, just to be sure. I made a pocket on the inside of your jacket just for it, don't worry. Well, hope you like the stuff.

From, your fellow thief.'

Warren smiled a little at the last words and muttered quietly to himself, "Fellow thief."

* * *

Elroy sat at the edge of the fountain in the middle of Hillborne square. The square was round and quite large, the cobblestones bellow with different imprints and paintings on them, of flowers, of warriors, of vieras and nu mous and moogles and bangaas and humans…

He was very happy at the moment. Not only was the feeling of freedom after the graduation the day before still ebbing, he was very happy about the surprise that awaited him when he arrived at home. Apparently, his father had asked a weaponsmith he was friends with to make a custom sword for Elroy. It was sheathed and hanging at his side on the belt he had received with his Battler gear, which consisted of a cerulean, long-sleeved shirt and jeans, a brown vest with several pockets on the front, a pair of brown fingerless leather gloves and brown boots and a short, brown mantel hanging down to the middle of his back. He fingered the gold hilt of his double-bladed sword and smiled.

Also, he was even happier because of a certain few letters he had received that morning. They were from three universities he had been thinking about, all asking him to come and join them in September. They were all very good, and he was quite surprised he had made just one of them. He was not exactly bad in school, but he had never been seen as the smart sort of person, because he was often around Warren and Delia, and around Delia anyone seemed less intelligent, and Warren was quite excellent at a few school subjects. Nonetheless, he didn't think that way at the moment. What mattered to him was that he had actual choices in his academic future, unlike the 'forced to the best possible' choice he had imagined.

He tapped his foot impatiently. He couldn't wait to tell Warren and Delia. He looked around, at the different shops and houses around the square, hoping to catch a glimpse of Warren's slightly mischievous grin or Delia's dull stare.

"Hello." That one word set Elroy off like crazy. His mind fired up and sent a rush of chills and strange feelings through him, his heartbeat increased rapidly, and he nearly threw himself forward in fright. He drew his sword quickly and swung around and sighed in relief to see Delia floating slightly above the surface of the water behind the edge where he had been sitting. She was wearing a blue robe, brown gloves and a large, brown straw hat which cast a slight shadow across her face. In her left hand was a red book.

"Oh, hi Del." He sheathed his sword and waved to her faintly. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that." He grinned. There was a small trace of a smile on her face as she replied calmly;

"You shouldn't overreact so badly when people sneak up on you." She stepped down on the edge and then hopped down onto the cobblestone ground. "Don't do it, Warren, he gets jumpy." She added. Elroy turned around and saw Warren a few steps away with his hands behind his back.

"Whoops?" He said tentatively.

"Ugh…" Elroy shook his head. "Well, now that we're all here…"

"Yeah, why are we here? What's the big news?"

"I was just about to tell you before you INTERRUPTED me. Please be quiet. Anyway, the big news are that I got accepted into three universities, all of them pretty good, high credentials and stuff. But some of the courses focus on clan work and field work, which is cool, so I decided it would be good to get some experience with that. So, I asked dad, do you know any clans that are recruiting? And he said, yeah, my friends clan is, I'll call him to get you in, and, well…I'm in a clan."

"That's great!" Warren exclaimed, patting Elroy on the shoulder. He held out his arm in front of Elroy and said in a deep voice, "Elroy; clan Warrior. Heh."

"Congratulations." Delia smiled weakly.

"Yeah, thanks." Elroy stopped for a second and then nodded, as if remembering something. "Oh, and you guys are in it too."

* * *

"I can't believe I'm in a clan. Me. In a clan!" Warren rambled on as they walked down the street to the town's official pub. It was a large building built out of bricks that looked like they belonged to the desert, rather than the modern-looking buildings along the street. There was a large wooden board above the wooden door with 'The Chain Mallet' carved into it, the painting of a silver mallet below. On the wall next to the door, there was a golden plate which had 'Those without official job diplomas; KEEP OUT' carved into it. Elroy pushed open the door and they entered.

The pub had a very warm and welcome feeling, with slightly hot air, everything made of wood, and with pretty, small crystal lamps mounted on the ceiling and walls. The first room was quite large, with several tables and chairs placed around and a bar stretching from the middle of the left wall and turning not far from the middle of the room into the back wall. The pub was filled with people, sitting around drinking, talking, laughing and discussing. At the end of the room, there was a large crimson, almost see-through silk cloth hanging from the ceiling across the opening to another room. There was an engraving on the ceiling in front of the cloth, which said 'Clan Lounge'.

"Wow…" Warren grinned, looking around. He had never been inside the pub, only seen it from outside. He had seen people of all sizes in all sorts of exotic outfits leave and enter the pub, in groups or alone, carrying large swords and staffs, with large creatures accompanying them even. And now that he was there, inside, he felt as if he belonged. Everyone was clearly clansmen or at least those who actively used their jobs. He saw a moogle sitting on stool talking to a bangaa at a table, putting a tiny dagger at his side and apparently making a joke, judging from the bangaas breaking into hissing laughter. Warren grinned and ran his finger across the sheath of the large dagger sheathed on his back.

"Come on!" Elroy led them across the pub and past the crimson cloth and into the Clan Lounge. It was a round, wide room with purple couches placed out across the room, paintings on the walls with round tables and chairs along the walls. Sitting by a table at the end of the room was a tall man with hazel, messy hair. He seemed not much older than the three eighteen-year olds. He had silver shoulder-armors, a chain torso armor, gray pants and brown boots, along with brown gloves and a large, flat sword which was stuck on his back. He seemed to notice them and waved to them. Elroy led them to the table.

"Guys, this is Quentin, the leader of the clan. Quentin, this is Delia and Warren. They graduated with me yesterday. Delia's a Black Mage, and Warren's a Thief."

"I see…" Quentin grinned, eyeing the two. He stopped and looked at Warren. "Nice dagger."

"Thanks." Warren replied, wondering how Quentin could even have seen it behind his back.

"Anyways, you three seem good enough. There are some things you have to know first. First of all, since you recently graduated, you will be placed in an Initiate group. There are six of you, FYI. We aren't a very big clan yet, so we don't have a name or a clan house. However, we hold most of our meetings at this address," Quentin handed Elroy a piece of parchment, "and other than called meetings, we have frequent meetings, taking place Tuesday every week, each beginning at six in the afternoon. Missions will be handed out to Initiates at the meetings. Come by today and meet the rest of the clan, don't ya?"

"Yeah, of course." Elroy answered.

"Cool! Nice that you could join us. " Quentin finished, standing up and leaving.

"Wow…that was fast…" Warren mumbled.

"Yes, yes it was." Delia added.

"Well, it was cool, wasn't it? Only four more hours till we get to meet the rest of the clan!"

"Yeah…great." Delia mumbled. Elroy grinned and put his arms around Warren's and Delia's shoulders.

"I have a really good feeling about this…"

"Grasgreen Street one…this is it." Elroy looked up down from the sign. They turned on the corner and walked onto a street next to which lines of large, mostly green and yellow houses towered. They stopped at the first one, a large green house with a wooden sign on the front reading 'Clan Baltind'. They pushed open the door and entered.

* * *

There. Mandatory stuff;

READ AND REVIEW. No, I don't need reviews to make me feel special or motivated. Nor is this a way for me to boost my ego by getting a bunch of people to acknowledge my work. No, it's just good to review. I mean, someone just gave you a cookie...what's the magic word? PLEASE. language) Review(action, not saying). So, that's my explanation of why I want you to be a reviewer. Because being curt is cool...

...did I just say curt is-


	2. Initiate Division 14

Ah, the second chapter...this one I don't like at all, up until the end...NO! Don't scroll down to look! You have to read the whole thing first...that's right ALL OF IT. But as I was saying, I'm not satisfied with this chapter at all (don't scroll!) up until the end, but it's still a chapter important to the plot. Now, review responses!

**KupoKupoKupo**: Thanks, dude. And, your wish has been granted. ONE DAY! ONE DAY!

Here it is!

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Chapter 2: Initiate Division 14

"Welcome!" As soon as they stepped over the threshold, the tiny, high pitched voice of what unmistakably had to be a moogle greeted them. They looked down at the tiny moogle, which wore a green hat, a brown vest and green pants. It waved at them kindly. "Are you the new members?"

"Yeah…" Warren muttered, looking around. The house consisted of one, large room. It had yellow walls and a green ceiling and floor. There were rows of chairs lined up in front of a stage at the other end of the room, on which Quentin, a nu mou and a bangaa sat on chairs. There were at least thirty or so members of the clan, it seemed, and all were sitting around the room, all watching the stage. Everyone were talking loudly and discussing, but as soon as the door closed with a low 'bam!' everyone looked around and saw the three standing with the moogle.

"Ah, the new members have arrived!" Quentin grinned, standing up. Everyone, let me introduce our newest members; Elroy the Battler, Delia the Black Mage and Warren the Thief!" There were a few hellos and greetings, but other than that, there were only curious stares. "Sit down; we were just starting the meeting!" The little moogle scurried off and sat down next to a tall viera while the trio quietly sat down on a few chairs in the back. Quentin walked over to a podium at the front of the stage and smiled at the clan's members. "Anyways, welcome everyone! Nice to see you all here! We will do the normal routine; first, Mission reports! Anything I need to know?" A rough, slightly scaled, orange hand was raised. "Yes?" The bangaa stood up.

"Me and the others in division eleven found Dolce, the wanted prison escaper!" The bangaa said proudly.

"Ah, good job. Meet me in the office later, Mr. Alnor. Anyone else?" A young Soldier raised his hand. "Yes?"

"We found another hidden adamantite vein during a mission in Lutia Pass!" The Soldier grinned.

"Really?"

"Yes! We called the union in Baguba Port, and they awarded us with ten thousand gil!"

"Impressive. Meet me in my office later as well. Anything else? No one? Alright then, on to the new members placement, then. Initiate division fourteen, please raise your hands." Three hands were raised. "Perfect. The new members will be joining Initiate Division 14. On to the Mission assignments, then!"

After the meeting, everyone moved the chairs around and sat with the members of their division. The trio took their chairs and walked over to the three who had raised their hands earlier. The rest of division fourteen consisted of a moogle Thief who clad himself in a black shirt and pants, together with black boots and a pair of green-hilted daggers, a human White Mage wearing a white robe with red patterns on the edges and a human Monk, wearing a breezy white shirt, black pants, brown sneakers and a white and blue headband.

"So, you're the new members?" The moogle muttered. "Don't seem too great."

"Elias!" The Monk exclaimed warningly.

"What! It's true!"

"Don't be rude, Elias." The White Mage muttered. She smiled weakly at the trio. "Hi, and welcome to Clan Baltind."

"Thanks…so, have you been in this Initiate thing for a long time?" Warren wondered as he sat down.

"Only for two months, so you better not screw it up." Elias said.

"ELIAS!"

"Sorry, kupo."

"Forgive our friend, he has yet to have learn the meaning of 'manners'." The White Mage sighed. "I'm Miruna." She added.

Elroy chuckled and Delia gave Elias a dull glance before looking at the Monk. "A Monk, hm? What made you pick that?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" The Monk asked suspiciously. Delia smirked devilishly.

"Nothing, just asking you what made you pick the Monk job?"

"Nothing MADE me pick this job, I CHOSE it because I think Monks are the best and they are, too!"

"Chill, Morris, chill." Elias grinned.

"YOU CHILL!"

"DON'T SHOUT AT ME!" The two started bickering furiously, and Miruna's smile faltered slightly.

"Ugh…" Miruna sighed again. "Just ignore them. Anyway, onto our assignments-"

"We get assignments?" Warren interrupted. Elroy and Delia glared at him. "Sorry."

"That's okay." Miruna shrugged. "Yes, we get assignments. They're the missions that are mandatory each month. Other than those, we can pick whichever mission we want…higher ranked missions means bigger chance to get off the Initiate list…however-"

"However?" Warren interrupted again. A faint pink formed on his cheeks. "Sorry."

"That's alright. As I was saying, you can't pick any mission you want anymore, though. Since the last law, there's this weird system, so you're restricted to lower ranked missions when you begin, and then work your way up. It's some safety issue, kids were picking dangerous missions trying to show off to some friends and they got seriously hurt. Fired up the vast community of insanely worried parents." Miruna sighed. "Anyways, our assigned missions are…Late Spring Cleaning, from Aries Neinar, who needs help cleaning up her mansion…weird…apparently, she prefers if the dispatched one is male, human, young and does one or more of the following jobs; Battler, Thief, Beastmaster, Archer and Fighter…"

"Sounds good enough." Warren said.

"Alright then. It's a dispatch mission, so you're going alone." Miruna said, handing the surprised Warren a clipboard she had summoned out of nowhere and a piece of parchment with an address written on it.

"Oh, I'm doing it…" He realized.

"Mhm. Two more…Hurry And Save Me…another cleaning thing…why don't they just get a maid or something? Anyways, this girl, Nina Lennin, threw a big party while her parents were away, and now she needs someone to help her clean it up, fast, midnight…okay, I guess we need to get to this one at the moment…also a dispatch mission, so only one person will do it…who wants to go?"

"Not me. I ain't cleaning nothing." Elias said firmly, crossing his arms.

"Okay, I guess Ben is doing it." Miruna said, handing the Monk a clipboard and a piece of parchment. "And lastly…ah, a Battle classed mission. F rank. They need someone to go out into the forest and beat up six Flans. It shouldn't be too hard…I guess the rest of us should go on that one." She wrote something down on another clipboard and pen she summoned. "There! Now, Ben, get out of here and help that girl."

"Damn you." Ben growled and stood up, cracking his knuckles. He then walked away, muttering under his breath.

"Warren, your mission has to be done within the next seven days, so you should get that done. And the rest, this last mission can be done anytime, so when do you want to do it?"

"How about tomorrow? We could meet by the gates and head out." Elroy suggested.

"Sounds like a plan." Miruna stood up. "Well, we're done for today. I'm going home now, bye." And with that and a small wave, she walked off. Elias stood up quietly, glared at the three and grinned mischievously and then hurried off after the White Mage. There was a brief silence.

"Well, that was interesting." Elroy mumbled.

* * *

"WARREN!" Warren's eyes flew open and he winced. _"The beast has awakened."_ He thought sadly. "WARREN!"

The blue-wall room was very quiet and empty. There was only a book case, a wardrobe, Warren's dagger, his Thief outfit and a bed. It was his sanctuary. Only he was allowed there if he said so.

Or so he thought.

"WARREN!" The door flew open and smashed against the wall. A girl with short, dark hair wearing a pair of blue jeans, white pants and a blue vest stepped in, furious, it seemed. "WHY WAS I NOT INFORMED THAT YOU WERE LET INTO A GUILD!"

Warren smiled weakly. "Oh yay, my sister is home. How glorious."

"SHUT UP! ANSWER ME!"

"At the same time? I think that's physically impossible."

"ANSWER ME!"

"Okay. You were not informed since you never asked. Maybe if you did a little more asking and a little less demanding, but hey, I can't control you, right?" Warren grinned as he watched his sister, who had spent the last four months in Dark Monk camp, become even more enraged.

"DAMN STRAIGHT YOU CAN'T!" She stood there, huffing and puffing, her face becoming even redder. Then, suddenly, she threw herself forward and hugged him tightly. "Oh, I've missed you so much!"

"Ooookay! Did they teach you Suffocate at that camp, 'cause I think only Blue Mages and Face Huggers are supposed to be able to do that!" He exclaimed. Peyton snorted and got off the bed, standing up with her arms in akimbo.

"Can't you ever be serious? Pff. I don't understand how you're gonna survive in a clan…"

"Bet I could do better than you."

"How much?"

Warren froze, staring dumbfounded at her sister. "…oh!" He gasped. "Which clan?"

"Clan Redders. They're new and pretty crappy, I'm thinking about leaving. But I'm making some cash from it, so it's sorta worth it."¨

"Cool!" Warren sighed. "Wow, it's going so fast, huh? One second we're learning our first ability (which were First Aid and Mog Aid for moogles), and the next, we're joining clans and doing missions…it's pretty sweet." Warren almost got out of his bed when he looked up, annoyed. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Get out of my room!"

"Yo!" Warren leaned out of the window in his room and shouted to the neighbor house, which was where Elroy lived. "YO!" The window opposite to his on the other house opened, and Elroy looked out, with unclean, wild hair and wearing only his underwear.

"WHAT!"

"Aren't you getting ready for your mission?"

"Wha? AW CRAP!" Elroy disappeared into his room. Then, an alarm clock came soaring out of the window and crashed onto the ground below, smashing into small pieces. "DAMN YOU, ALARM CLOCK! YOU BETRAYED ME!" And then he disappeared again, and the window closed. Warren chuckled and looked at his wrist clock.

"Well, better get going." He put on his tabis and hurried out of his room.

* * *

Warren strutted down Ambermore Lane, on which a few, huge mansions were lined up. He stopped at the fourth one, a purple mansion, the biggest one on the lane. He stepped over the gate and walked up to the front door on the small stone path, staring baffled at the mansion. He knocked on the large, white door and waited. Finally, the door was opened by who seemed to be Aries Neinar.

Warren's first impression was that Aries was very, very beautiful. She was a viera with tanned skin and long, snow white hair. She wore a purple skirt and a purple short-sleeved shirt with white edges. She smiled brightly at Warren. She seemed one or two years older than him.

"Ah, finally…" She grabbed his arm and pulled him inside. Warren looked around as Aries closed the door behind him. The entrance hall was a large, oval room, with light brown, almost golden walls, and a set of marble stairs leading to the top floor. Warren looked up at the crystal chandelier in awe.

"Wow…this is a really pretty house you have here…" He gasped.

"Yes, thank you…it's quite special to me…my husband bought it when we got married…" Aries smiled and walked past him. "So, now to your…mission…"

"Yeah? You want me to help you clean up, right?"

"Oh…yes…" Aries smiled again. "I would like to begin with the top floor…would you go upstairs and wait in the third room to the left while I get the cleaning items?" She asked sweetly. Warren nodded and headed upstairs. He walked over to the third door to the left and opened. It seemed to be a bedroom, and a very large one at that. The walls were sky blue, and there was a huge king size bed with purple covers. He raised an eyebrow, confused. The room seemed pretty clean, as did the other parts of the house he had seen. He put his arms at his sides and waited. He wondered if this was some sort of a trick, and he instantly felt angry at himself for not bringing his dagger.

"I'm here!" Warren let out a small gasp and jumped back as Aries suddenly jumped up in front of him, as if she had crawled in front of him and then stood up abruptly. His eyes widened as he calmed down. She was standing there in a very, very short skirt and a very, very tight shirt.

"Hello…where's the cleaning…things…?" He asked tentatively. Aries let out a small laugh.

"That's funny…" She walked in a half-circle around him, against the door. She leaned against it, closing the door with a slam. "We both know there is no cleaning to be done."

"Now I do…I guess…so…I guess the mission…is done…" With each word, Warren stepped back as Aries stepped against him. "Right?"

-Fifteen minutes past midnight the night before-

"See, now this is just unfair…" Ben stepped up to the house he was supposed to clean in his Monk gear. "Just plain unfair." The size of the house was anything but average. It seemed as if someone had taken a huge house of some hidden away island and placed it in this small neighborhood-ly street. "Goddamn moogle." He muttered, knocking on the door. It flung open to reveal a blonde, seemingly furious girl clad in a green robe, black shoes and a straw hat.

"LATE!" She shouted.

"Huh?" Ben raised an eyebrow. The girl moved to the right slightly to reveal who seemed like her very angry parents standing in a trashed living room inside. "Oh."

"LATE!" She shouted again, a green ball of fire forming in his hand.

"Take it easy, now- AH!" He ducked out of the way of the fireball and dashed off, zick-zacking to avoid the girl's outlet of rage.

-Back to present: Warren-

"AH!" Warren ducked again as Aries flung herself at him. "I thought-" He sidestepped. "- you said you have a husband! I don't wanna get in any trouble, miss!" He jumped away as Aries tried to push him against the bed.

"Oh please, he's just some forty-year old rich guy who needed someone to make him look better. Plus, he doesn't care; he's always on business trips around the world…" Aries stopped and her smile faded. She looked away and Warren froze when he heard sobbing sounds.

"Please don't cry…sorry…" He put his arm around her shoulders, stale but trying to be comforting. His eyes widened in shock as she grabbed his arms and looked up with a satisfied grin.

"Fooled ya."

* * *

"I'm not late, I'm not late, I'm not late, I'm not late!" Elroy dashed down the street to the town gates, trying to eat a sandwich, brush his teeth, drink a milkshake he had picked up quickly on the way and comb his hair as he ducked out of the way of the sword swing of a bangaa who was dueling a human Battler in the middle of the street. He turned and hurried over to the stone wall and the huge wooden and metal enforced doors which were the town gates. He saw Delia, Miruna and Elias already there. "I'm not late!"

Delia looked up and saw Elroy running against them, slurping on what seemed like a toothbrush jammed into a milkshake, trying to shove half a sandwich down the other side of his mouth with a comb with the same hand and combing his hair with a straw. He stopped in front of them, threw away the milkshake, swallowed the sandwich, dropped the comb and the straw and panted heavily. Delia looked at her wrist watch.

"You're late."

"Sexual harassment! Sexual harassment!"

"Oh please, a young boy like you, the only explanation to why you are struggling would be that you're-"

"HEY! You got a point there, but still, SEXUAL HARASSMENT! With the lawsuit and everything!"

"Hah!" Aries sat up. She was sitting in Warren's lap, pushing him down against the bed. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

"Don't mind if I do!"

"Not like that!" Warren tried to get out of her hold, but she was surprisingly strong. He sighed and looked up at in her eyes. He stared for a long moment, and then, for some strange reason he didn't even understand, he started laughing. Aries furrowed her thin eyebrows.

"Why are you laughing? Stop it! What's so funny?" She got off the bed, glaring at Warren, who was still laughing hysterically. "Quit it!"

"I…can't…" Warren banged his fists on the bed, laughing. Then, suddenly, he stopped and rolled over to the other side of the bed. "Hah!" He backed against the wall and threw open the window. "Fooled ya!" He grinned, and then he jumped out of the window.

"Oh my god!" Aries screeched, running against the window. She looked out and saw Warren running down the side of the mansion, his tabis somehow sticking to the wall.

"See ya, lady! I'll come back for my reward!"

"But you didn't do anything!" Aries shouted, dumbfounded as she watched Warren land and walk against the street.

"But the house is pretty clean, right?" He shouted back, and then he jumped over the fence and ran off.

* * *

"Flans…pff, to easy." Delia flicked her hand tiredly, sending a flaming orb of fire at a blue blob known as an Ice Flan. The orb hit the flan and it closed around it, trapping the flan in flames. Then, the flames were gone, as was the flan, and all that was left was a burn mark on the dirty ground and a strange, whirling glow that flew away.

"Why don't you let us do some stuff, Del? You've been killing everything in sight!" Elroy sighed, frustrated.

"Okay…that's six flans." Miruna looked around, peering through the many trees at the sides of the road. "No monsters in sight. We can head back now." She wrote something down on her clipboard and then they headed back to the town.

* * *

"Report!" All six had gathered back at the guild hall. There were only a few there, and since it was a bit early, the door was locked. Luckily, Miruna had been handed a key, being the first member of Initiate Division Fourteen. Miruna had collected all the clipboards and was now inspecting the others with a glint in her eye. "First, Warren. How did your mission go?"

"Uh…it went…swell." He mumbled, scratching the back of his head. "But I haven't collected the reward yet. I'll do that later."

"Great! The battle mission went well too, anyone who wants to get the reward?"

"I'll do it." Elroy said.

"Perfect. Remember to stop by the office; a share of all cash rewards from assigned missions must go to the guild."

"Okay."

"Good then. Ben?" There was a strange tone of strictness and hope in Miruna's voice.

Ben looked at the others wearily.

"Ben?"

Ben sighed. "I was late."

"Late?" Miruna's gaze turned into a glare. "Late! You were late!"

"I was late! It's a big city, and it was dark, it's hard to find places!"

"How late?"

"I don't know!" Ben crossed his arms. "Does it matter?"

"Yes it does!" Miruna was clearly angered and frustrated. "This is the third time this month!"

"Yeah, you're on a roll." Elias sniggered. Warren almost started laughing as well, but Delia sent him a glance which alerted him in time to catch his laughter in his throat. Elroy shook his head.

"Two out of three is good enough, I guess." He mumbled. Miruna wrote something down on her clipboard and then she looked up.

"Oh well! We're done with our assignments! Now we have six days till the next assignments…we can pick more missions, of course, so if you guys wanna do some mission, just come stop here and check if we're in to come along." Miruna suggested. Elias snorted, as did Ben. "Check in if I'm in to come along, then." She added, annoyed.

"Yeah, we'll do that." Warren stood up and put his hands at his sides. "Well, I'll be going now. See ya." He smiled briefly at Miruna and glanced at Ben, who was cracking his knuckles, muttering, and then he headed against the door.

* * *

Warren looked up as he walked down the street, thinking about the day. It was already getting dark, even though it was quite early in the day. He sighed, putting his hand in his pockets. He thought back to the meeting. He remembered the ecstatic feeling he had felt as he had seen his clansmates.

"Heh…" He chuckled to himself as he thought he saw one of the stars sparkle. He stared at the star for a moment, but a loud bang and a scream shook him out of his thoughts. He looked around and heard a second scream not far away. He ran down the street and turned, seeing a blonde boy lying face-down on the ground, his dark robes burned on the edges. A girl in a white robe, apparently a White Mage, ran against the boy, kneeling down at him, her face streaming with tears. She let out a gasp and rolled the boy over. Warren hurried over to them. "Hey!"

The White Mage looked up, staring at Warren, terrified. "Please, help him! They're already on their way!" She grabbed the boy's hand, putting it to her cheek while sobbing hysterically. "Please…help him…" She whispered. Warren was about to ask what was coming, and what had happened, although the quickly approaching shadow not far up the street gave him a distinct suspicion. He got up from his crouch and walked past the girl. The dark form stopped. Then, the darkness wrapped around the form seemed to separate, and Warren realized it had been a slim man with a black cape wrapped around his body. He had dark hair which was held up by his black headband, and he was clad in black leather from neck to toe. There was a black bandana covering his mouth, and Warren saw the silvery glint of a pair of daggers hanging at his sides.

"Who are you?" Warren called out, although he knew there wasn't going to any answer. The girl turned her head and let out a small whimper.

"Him...he…" She stopped to breathe for a moment, wiping her tears off with her sleeve. "…he…chased us…I don't know…what he…wants with us!" She finished placing her face in her hands. "You have to get help…" Warren heard her whisper weakly.

"Did you do this?" Warren shouted, pointing to the boy. The man tilted his head a little, his gray eyes shifting from the White Mage to Warren.

"Yes." He said. His voice was strangely raspy, like a bangaas voice.

"Why?"

"Business." The man replied simply. He didn't seem to be bothered at all by the scene.

Warren glared at the man, frustrated and a bit frightened. "Who are you?"

"…I'm a busy man." Warren raised an eyebrow. "_This is going nowhere._" He thought.

"Look, I don't know what you did to this boy, but you obviously hurt him. Why?" Warren said, once again sure that he was not getting a direct answer.

"Because it's my job." The man stepped forwards slowly.

"Stop." Warren said. "You are not hurting them again."

"Are you trying to interfere with my work?" The man asked. Warren's eyes widened a little. He wondered where the judges were agitatedly.

"You are not hurting them again." He repeated, stepping back a little as the man took another step against him.

"I don't like interferences…" The man sighed. "I have to get rid of interferences." He stopped abruptly. Warren stared at the man, waiting. The man seemed to have frozen completely. Then he realized what had happened.

"Look out!" Warren was ready. He ducked and rolled forwards, right through the man who had been in front of him. He stood up and turned around to see the man he had first seen, with his back against him, and an exact replica of him standing next to him, staring at Warren. The bandana had fallen off, and there was a small grin on the man's face.

"You saw my trick…" He drove his hand through the head of the man next to him, and he seemed to vanish. The 'replica' stood let his hand fall limply to his side. "Very smart."

"Well, I am a Thief…I can see those kinds of tricks…" Warren smiled and leapt forward, his fist up. The man pulled out his dagger and shoved it into the stomach of Warren in midair. He smiled and pulled out the dagger, letting the boy fall to the ground. Although, as soon as he hit the ground, Warren vanished the same way the dark clad man's copy had done. The man staggered forwards as Warren, who appeared behind him, sent a swift kick to his back. "And I also know how to do them." He said as the man turned around. "Now, I'll ask one last time. Who are you?"

The man cracked his knuckles. "You're persistent…I like that…" He let his arms fall limply to his sides. "My name is Eol, I believe." He smiled a little. "Now, since you have delivered the first hit…I believe this is an engagement…" Eol's grin widened. "But there's no judge here…and you know what that means, right?"

A lump formed in Warren's throat. "I'll…I won't let you…"

"Hurt them?" Eol laughed a little. "Fine." There was a silence, as the two stared at each other. The White Mage seemed to be oblivious to the scene behind her, she was just weeping by the Black Mage.

"Are you-" As soon as Warren uttered those words, Eol seemed to disappear right in front of him. "_He's fast…_" He thought to himself. He stood still, closing his eyes and concentrating. He waited, and waited…and then, he bent backwards, avoiding two shurikens that had been thrown at him from behind. He landed on his hands and kicked off the ground, doing a strange half-wheelie into a fighting stance. He looked around, ready to attack. Then, suddenly, he saw a blur appear for a moment not far away. And again, a little closer this time. Then, he was knocked down as Eol's fist seemed to come out of nowhere and hit him on the shoulder so hard he whirled around and fell to the ground face down. He quickly pushed himself up, sending a kick against Eol. Eol grabbed Warren's foot and twisted it. Warren was thrown over again, but this time, he landed on his hands. While still in the momentum, he let his other foot fly up and hit Eol straight against the cheek. He dropped Warren, who landed and rolled forward, getting up.

"Had enough?" Warren asked, his confidence building up and his adrenaline pumping fiercely.

Eol smiled weakly. "Yes…" He pulled out his daggers. "I have had enough of this." Warren's eyes widened as Eol made a strange whirl against him, as if to stab him. Warren jumped back, but apparently, Eol had tricked him, as he threw the other dagger against him as he jumped back. There was a short, breathtaking moment as Warren looked at Eol before there was a strong pain the lower region of his chest, he landed on his head and went unconscious, blood spilling to the ground.

* * *

"I'll...I won't let you..." SOOOOO big of a cliché, I know. But it was necessary, really. Anyways, there it is. I hope you like cliffhangers, 'cause I haven't even started on the third one yet. I'll get right at it right...NOW! 


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